Editor's Note Today the delegates begin debating what exactly an American President should be. They don't really figure it out. Is it one person, or three, similar to the  Roman Triumvirate ? And what does a president do? The word "President" actually only appears today in reference to Washington being president of the convention, but we do see the very first debates about the "National Executive," which will eventually evolve into the Presidency (though not today, as they vote to put off the issue for a later time).  On this day, delegate  George Mason  wrote a letter to his son George Mason Jr. which really put the whole convention into perspective. "May God grant, we may be able to gratify them, by establishing a wise and just government. For my own part, I never before felt myself in such a situation; and declare I would not, upon pecuniary motives, serve in this convention for a thousand pounds per day. The revolt from Great Britain and the fo...

Today the delegates debate resolutions three through six of the proposed Virginia Plan. These four resolutions focus on the structure of the legislature and who, exactly, gets to vote. No, the delegates weren't 87 years ahead of the 15th amendment (giving black men the right to vote) or 133 years ahead of the 20th amendment (giving women the right to vote). Instead, they primarily discussed whether the new national legislature should be elected by the people or by state legislatures.  The discussion around this topic really stuck out to me, as it seems to touch on a lot of issues we still debate today—are people really smart enough to elect good people to government? Do they have enough information, or are they "low information voters? Delegate  Rodger Sherman  certainly thought the average voter wouldn't have enough perspective, saying "they want information, and are constantly liable to be misled," which is a statement I feel both sides of the political spect...

Editor's Note Today Roger Sherman of Connecticut takes his seat at the convention. At 66, he is the second oldest in attendance (after Franklin). Sherman will become a key figure when in comes time to resolve the differences between the various proposed plans, especially the pesky issue of how representation should work. Expect to see more of him (and to read more about him here) in late June/early July. Today we finally get to see some debate as the delegates discuss two of Randolph's fifteen Virginia Plan resolutions. The painstaking slowness of this all really makes you appreciate the scale of the whole thing. As always, feel free to reach out to me with any thoughts or ideas. My copyeditor is on vacation this week, so if you notice any glaring errors, it's not my fault. I'll be back in your inbox tomorrow morning! -Logan If you're thirsting for more wisdom on the convention, and looking to support this newsletter, you can buy books from our ...

Editor's Intro After laying down the rules yesterday, the delegates proceeded to lay out six more today– just for fun. The fifth of these is what became known as the "rule of secrecy," stating that the delegates not discuss or publish the happenings of the convention to anyone not attending. TeachingAmericanHistory.org  has some thoughts on the reasoning behind this rule: "the jurors deliberated in secret in order to be candid with each other and to be free to change their mind for the right reason, namely, because they were persuaded to do so. There is also something to be said to being part of an uninterrupted conversation. It isn't so much that politics seeks darkness rather than light; rather it is from darkness that light emerges." It's interesting to think of this in light of much more recent political events. We tend to favor government transparency, but at a certain point too much transparency makes it difficult to debate or deliberate...